Post Throne Speech Statement from John Fraser

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Interim Ontario Liberal Leader John Fraser released the following statement today in response to the Government's Speech from the Throne -

THRONE SPEECH STATEMENT

The Throne Speech is an opportunity for the government to outline their priorities for the upcoming session. Today’s Throne Speech comes at a time when, for the past three years, Ontario has led the G7 nations in economic growth and job creation, unemployment rates are the lowest they’ve been in almost 20 years and more than 800,000 new jobs have been created since the great recession. Ontario’s economy is strong.

The Throne Speech should also reflect Ontarians’ values. One of those values is having a safe and clean environment.

Every generation is called upon to make sacrifices for the next. The great challenge confronting our generation is climate change. It will impact our economy and nearly every aspect of our lives from health care to housing. Governments must have a plan for how they are going to address it.

Doing nothing is not an option.

There is no plan for protecting the environment in this Throne Speech. The government has failed to tell Ontarians the cost and risks associated with leaving the carbon market. Already, we’ve seen Ontario’s schools affected, with $100 million of much-needed infrastructure investment spending cut.

The impact of the government’s decisions in our schools is of deep concern.

The cancellation of the heath and sexual education curriculum, the most consulted in our history, is putting our children at risk. The government is not teaching our young people how to say no and how to respond appropriately to the pressures of today.

The Ontario Liberal Caucus looks forward to the resumption of the legislature and working with the government and our colleagues in opposition to ensure there is a strong plan for those things that Ontarians depend on.